History of Snowbird’s Mountain Coaster

Several years ago Snowbird considered a coaster in the Wilbur area – Denied

About a year ago Snowbird proposed the coaster at the base of the iconic peak Mt. Superior – Overwhelmingly Denied

Snowbird began lobbying to have County Ordinances rewritten to allow development of more summer activities – This could help to allow much needed mountain biking trails

April 2012, Snowbird announces a new location for the mountain coaster in the Peruvian Gulch – Typical, start big then downsize to gain approval

In early May 2012, Snowbird gains approval to build the mountain coaster – Although still with minimal approval from Environmental groups, better than on Mt. Superior though

The following design plans were obtained from the Salt Lake County Planning Commission on May 10th, 2012

Overall vertical gain of the Coaster will be 160 feet

The downhill track will be 2,120 feet with 1000 feet of up-hill track

The average downhill slope will be 11.5% with a maximum of 20% (SO SCARY!!!)

The track will contain 3 bridges over cat-tracks and access roads and 1 tunnel under the cat-tracks and access roads.

The entire coaster will be built on Snowbird’s Privately owned land, not Forest Service Land.

Full aerial view of the mountain coaster

The way the coaster is designed and will be built would allow in the future, depending on its success, for the coaster to be extended uphill to make for a steeper and longer ride. Although not set in stone, the coaster may also be used in the winter depending on daily weather conditions.

Another view showing more detail on land impact

The base area of the coaster will be located directly behind the existing Peruvian Express lift shack.

Another view showing more detail on land impact

Instead of concrete footings, the majority of the track will be installed using minimal impact soil stakes driven deep into the ground.

One of the major controversies was the public did not want to have a large visual impact from the Little Cottonwood Canyon Highway, which is a Scenic Byway. This appears to be solved since the coaster is almost entirely in the “shadow” of the Cliff Lodge. Construction is set to begin either this fall or the spring of 2013 provided the world doesn’t end before then.

With all the controversy over, and the coaster facts set in stone, what is your final opinion? Would riding the coaster change your opinion?